Modern vehicles, such as aircraft, often include head-up displays (HUDs) that project various symbols and information onto a transparent display, or image combiner, through which a user (e.g., the pilot) may simultaneously view the exterior scene. Traditional HUDs incorporate fixed image combiners located above the instrument panel on the windshield of the aircraft, or directly between the windshield and the pilot's head.
More recently, “head-mounted” HUDs have been increasingly developed that utilize image combiners, such as near-to-eye (NTE) displays, coupled to the helmet or headset of the pilot that move with the changing position and angular orientation of the pilot's head. Although an advantage of head-mounted HUDs is that the information displayed may be visible to the pilot regardless of the position or orientation of his or her head, there may circumstances in which the pilot would prefer that the information on the NTE display not be visible, such as when the pilot is attempting to view the terrain with as little visible obstruction as possible, or when the pilot is viewing a display on the instrument panel (i.e., a “head-down” display). Typically, the only way for the pilot to deactivate the HUD is to manually actuate a user input device (e.g., a switch) on the flight deck of the aircraft, which may be distracting and typically requires the pilot to release the flight controls with at least one hand.
In this sense, traditional HUDs utilizing fixed image combiners offer the advantage that the information displayed is typically only visible when the pilot's head is directly in front of the image combiner. That is, if the pilot leans to the side to look around the image combiner, or looks down at the instrument panel, the information on the HUD is no longer visible.
Additionally, there are situations in which it would be advantageous for the pilot to have the ability to control other systems on-board the aircraft without requiring the manual actuation of a user input device. Further, there are situations in which it would be advantageous for the aircraft to automatically respond to the pilot's behavior.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a method and system for operating an avionic system based on gestures of a user. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.